Category Archives: Personal Injury Law

Let’s say, tragically, you’ve suffered an injury at work. Something has fallen, and out of all the improbabilities in the world, it has fallen on you. Now, you’ve seen a doctor, and the prognosis is not good. You’ve been told you may have a diminished earning capacity for the rest of your life. That’s awful enough, but now, you’re being forced to prove that fact, and your situation may take a legal turn. What do you do?

That situation may sound awfully hypothetical, but it applies to many people in America every year. Accidents can happen in any industry, even if it is more common in some. Do not just assume that you are safe because you work in an office. Slips and falls, falling objects, and other such accidents happen all the time, and though it might sound unrealistic, it is in fact very possible to slip and injure yourself in such a way you may not be able to work to your full potential again.

The key to navigating such a stressful and life-changing situation is two-fold: document everything and talk to a lawyer.

It is crucial when dealing with such an injury that you can prove first and foremost that it either occurred at work or was in some way the fault of your employer. The level of evidence for this can be steep should the insurance company press for it, so get as much documentation as you can as quickly as you can.

Even if your injury is not due to work but is still the fault of another party, the same point applies. If you can prove your case, you’ll not only be freed from medical bills and other immediate concerns, you’ll be in a better position to get compensation for your diminished earning capacity.

The second point is almost as important as the first. You will probably need a lawyer. Experienced lawyers will know how to navigate the laws and regulations in your area and be able to understand clearly exactly what is being asked of you by the insurance company in question. Such documents can often be intentionally convoluted. This is meant to confuse you and make sure you don’t comply with their demands. Having a lawyer present will take the stress of translating such documents off your shoulders.

It can also be helpful to find lawyers that already have some name recognition. This is not necessarily as easy as you might hope, but it can improve your situation by speeding up the process. Should the lawyers already have a proven record on such cases, the insurance company may be less interested in fighting the case and wasting more money.

If you follow these two pieces of advice—documenting everything and finding a lawyer—you are far more likely to find yourself taken care of and in a better financial position than you would otherwise, which can be a great relief after such a traumatic injury.

Undergoing any sort of medical treatment can be frightening and overwhelming. This is particularly true when person is experiencing something as potentially harmful and threatening as kidney failure. Fortunately, for anyone who has kidney failure or damage, there are a number of treatment options available. A kidney transplant is a less common choice as it is only needed for those with severe kidney damage or failure and can be both difficult and expensive to get. As such, many people with more serious kidney failure, disease, or damage will get dialysis in order to make sure their wellbeing and health is maintained as best as possible.

There are five different types of dialysis, three of which are primarily used. Through each of these forms, a person artificially has their blood filtered of harmful toxins, waste products, and excess products that build-up in their blood, which is the work that the kidney would ordinarily do. Of these three most common forms of dialysis, hemodialysis is the most commonly used treatment for patients with kidney failure. As such, many patients with kidney failure have dialysates, products that help filter the blood, put into their blood system. While many of these products are safe, recently a certain dialysate – GranuFlo – has found to be just the opposite.

Sadly, GranuFlo, which is designed to neutralize the harmful acids that build-up in a person’s body when their kidneys are not functioning properly by converting into bicarbonates, causes an excessive amount of bicarbonates to build-up in a person’s blood system. As a result of this excessive amount of bicarbonate, a person could find themselves facing a number of very serious health problems, including:

Heart arrhythmias

Strokes

Cardiac arrests

Low blood pressure

Metabolic alkalosis

Additionally, the patient’s family may be left seriously grieving if their loved one suddenly dies as a result of using GranuFlo.

Because of the very dangerous health problems that GranuFlo can cause, not to mention the risk of death, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a Class 1 recall of the product in March of 2013. It was also discovered that Fresenius Medical Care, the manufacturer of GranuFlo, previously knew about the dangers GranuFlo presented when it was found that a memo was released warning of the problems this product could cause, but many members of the general public and medical profession were not made equally aware of these hazards. As a result, many victims and/or their families are taking legal action against the company and filing lawsuits to pursue justice and compensation for their losses and suffering.

When a person is accused of murder or manslaughter, they face life-changing criminal penalties for the act of which they are accused. Even in the most beneficial of circumstances, a conviction for this type of crime carries heavy consequences that will dramatically impact the rest of that individual’s life in almost every area, from employment to personal relationships. As a result, those who are accused of murder or manslaughter necessarily must be able to do whatever they possibly can to avoid conviction for this type of crime.

The defense strategy for an individual accused of this type of crime will vary significantly, largely dependent on the specific facts of the case at hand, as well as several other relevant but tangential factors. However, in general terms, there are a range of strategies that a defense attorney may take in crafting a legal argument for his or her client’s innocence. The following is a brief examination of some of the most common of these strategies.

If the client is truly innocent of the act, their attorney has several options in shaping their defense. If the defendant has a reliable, verifiable alibi, this may be the crux of the defense. These types of defenses are typically rare, however, as a good alibi is often enough to prevent a case from going to trial in the first place. Therefore, this type of defense is often combined with a case built on discrediting or otherwise downplaying the validity of evidence marshaled by the prosecution. This is because criminal convictions in the United States must only be made in cases in which the evidence provided beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty of the crime.

Interestingly, this standard differs from the standard required in civil cases. For this reason, those who are exonerated on murder or manslaughter charges in a criminal case may nevertheless still face legal action from the survivors of the deceased in the form of a wrongful death lawsuit. Many wrongful death lawyers understand how to build a convincing case that satisfies the preponderance of evidence requirement for civil cases, a standard which is much lower than the reasonable doubt requirement.

In cases in which the fact that the defendant’s actions resulted in the death of someone else is beyond dispute, there still remain several legal strategies for defending against a conviction for murder, manslaughter, or related charges. The most common of these strategies is the claim of self-defense. If the defendant can plausibly claim that his or her actions were necessary in order to defend themselves or others, it may be enough to result in a not guilty verdict, as self-defense is legally protected in many states, though the precise language governing self-defense statutes is critical to determining whether or not the particular case conforms to the law. Additionally, the defendant may claim insanity or the influence of intoxicating agents such as drugs or alcohol as causal factors in the crime, which in rare circumstances may be enough to render a not guilty verdict or a reduced judgment.

For public defenders, assault is one of the most common criminal charges with which clients may be charged. Legally speaking, assault has a much broader definition than the general public might expect: in order for someone to have committed an act of assault, it is not necessary for them to have engaged in any actual physical contact with their alleged victim. Instead, it is only necessary for law enforcement officials to be able to show that the individual committed an intentional act which created a reasonable fear of harm or unwanted contact in another person. If contact does, in fact, occur, the crime is often upgraded to assault and battery, though this may vary based on jurisdiction.

The penalties for assault crimes can vary significantly. If the intended harm suggested by the individual’s act went beyond the ordinary to suggest potentially serious bodily injury, the assault charge may be upgraded to aggravated assault, which often requires significant prison sentences and fines. Conversely, if the accusation of assault involved only a minor incident, the criminal penalties faced by the defendant may be correspondingly minor, potentially involving little more than community service and court costs.

In addition to the criminal penalties that an individual accused of assault may face, there is also the potential that they may be the subject of a civil lawsuit for the damages their actions are alleged to have caused. Assault, under the American legal system, is both a criminal action and a tort, meaning that those who are accused of committing assault can be subject to civil and criminal penalties. Many personal injury attorneys, understanding the potential for a positive judgment, will advise assault victims to pursue a lawsuit for this reason.

While the exact nature of the potential consequences that a person accused of committing assault can vary significantly, depending on a variety of different circumstances such as the details of the crime itself and the individual’s prior criminal history, avoiding conviction for this type of charge is the best outcome in most situations. An experienced criminal defense lawyer can help to mitigate the extent of the potential penalties, but even a conviction on reduced charges can have profound effects on the accused individual’s life, in the short and long term. Therefore, avoiding conviction altogether is the primary goal of most criminal defenders.

There are four main strategies that may be pursued in the goal of avoiding conviction for accusations of assault. The first is simply a denial of the allegations: a lack of evidence, or evidence in favor of the defendant, can lead a jury to conclude that the alleged assault never occurred, resulting in a termination of criminal proceedings. However, if this is not possible, three main strategies can be effective in demonstrating that the individual did not break the law by committing assault. These can be defined as consent (in which case the “victim” consented to activity which they were aware might lead to their own injury), privilege (in which case the accused had some legal standing to commit an act which, in other circumstances, might constitute assault), and defense (in which case the act of assault was necessary to protect the accused individual or others).